


Brothers, you say?

by hargreaves



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, I'm sure of it, Loki and Thor Are Not Related, Loki will outlive us all, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 13:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14853356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hargreaves/pseuds/hargreaves
Summary: Or: How the Avengers found out the ambiguity of the word "brother".





	Brothers, you say?

“Brother” is what Thor called Loki when he described their family ties back on the helicarrier. Most of the Avengers thought nothing of it, after all, it’s not that strange to have siblings. Surely even alien gods have them - albeit adopted. 

But Tony knew the truth. Because the look on Loki’s face when a lightning hit too close to the ship for Natasha’s comfort? That wasn’t fear as Steve though, no. He’d seen the face on Pepper’s face a lot - when he video called her a few minutes from home after a long business trip. When he stopped by after a fight, just to inform her that he was okay. No, the shining eyes and body rigid from nerves pointed to a different feeling than fright. Full of longing and expectation. And, judging from how Thor’s gaze zeroed on his “brother”, how he cradled his jaw when he could have taken him by the throat, how he pulled him close before pushing him out of the quinjet, the feeling was mutual. So when Thor said “brother”, Tony was surprised and, admittedly, slightly disgusted. But they’re aliens, their word “brother” obviously doesn’t have the same meaning. 

Steve’s realization hit him like a train, almost immediately. He got it when he was falling from the quinjet, when he kept his eye on his prey - or preys, since he couldn’t tell who the blonde guy that suddenly fell from sky was - when he noticed their closeness, the way they pushed from each other only to get back oh so close, for the blonde guy to cradle Loki’s head… it wasn’t fear Loki felt when they heard the first rumbles of thunder. He remembered how he and Bucky jokingly called each other “brother” in front of strangers. Yes, the word truly is ambiguous. 

Clint knew of their relationship from the beginning, of course. Being connected to the god of chaos by the scepter’s magic allowed him glimpses into his past. And boy, the things he saw! He saw them call each other “brothers”, be it during a fight, on an embassy mission, or even late night in bed, whispering sweet nothings to each other (oh, Clint was very sure that wasn’t something Loki wanted to share!). But when Natasha gave him status update on the current mission and said that Loki and Thor were siblings, he was torn - should he share what he knew, or should he keep the true nature of their relationship quiet? He chose the latter - just to see the look on Fury’s face when he realized the truth.

Natasha was one of the last to realize, surprisingly enough - she is a spy, for god’s sake, how did it take her so long? But as she was fighting the Chitauri defending Loki’s scepter, she noticed from the corner of her eyes Thor’s fight with Loki. The blond god seemed to be one of the few who had a fighting chance against him, but either the trickster was on equal ground with him, or Thor was holding back. Although seeing how Loki stabbed Thor - crying, with shaking hands - she supposed the god of thunder really was holding back. And when he cradled Loki’s still crying face, she concluded it wasn’t because of sibling love. But then Loki was gone, Thor looked heartbroken and doctor Selvig told her how to close the portal. 

They all let it be. Thor proved to be a formidable ally and shown them that his (not exactly brotherly) love for Loki didn’t hinder him on their mission to stop the invasion. They didn’t talk about it, after all, why should they? So Bruce came to the same conclusion only years later, when they decided to wait a few hours before going to steal a ship and heading towards Asgard to stand against the goddess of death (he was quite worried about that plan, to be honest). Thor never left Loki’s side during the intermission, constantly touching him, reassuring himself that his “brother” was alright. The fond smiles they had for each other, even while talking about how Loki tried to murder Thor often when they were young, made him remember as well. He had this too, with Betty, before everything went downhill. Except for the murder part, that is.

Most of the new Avengers had no idea who Loki was - well, maybe except for the fact that he was the guy who attacked New York with an alien army all those years ago. So when they saw their blond friend appear in the middle of the fight with Thanos’ army on the fields surrounding Wakanda, side by side with the trickster, they were quite surprised at first. But they fought well together, flying daggers charged with lightning, multiple illusions of Thor’s new axe that still kept its power; even when it came down to fist-fight, they looked out for each other and never let anyone overpower the other fighter. 

And when Thanos and his gauntlet were destroyed, dust settled on the battlefield, and Thor swept Loki into his arms, they both smiled so brightly and shared a deep breathy kiss. Those closest to them could clearly hear Thor’s announcement “I love you, brother.” and Loki’s similar answer. And they already knew the word “brother” didn’t have the same connotation as they’re used to.


End file.
